Professor Butter Beard’s Tudor Rose Scones
One dozen scones
1 cup dried cranberries, soaked overnight in apple cider
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 Tbsp granulated sugar
1 ½ Tbsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp fine sea salt
1 tsp ground ginger
18 Tbsp unsalted butter (4 Tbsp melted)
1 ¼ cups cold buttermilk
1 Tbsp granulated sugar mixed with 1 tsp cinnamon
1) Soak the dried cranberries in apple cider overnight.
2) Baking morning: Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
3) Place two sticks of butter in your freezer.
4) In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and soda, salt and ginger.
5) Using a box grater, grate 7 Tbsp of the chilled stick of butter over the dry mix. Place the remaining 1 Tbsp in a small bowl to melt. Do the same with the second chilled stick. Add the 2 remaining Tbsp of butter (4 total) and microwave on medium to melt. Use the melted butter to grease a 12-muffin tin.
6) With your fingers, toss the 14 Tbsp of butter with the dry mixture. Drain the cranberries and toss them with the dry mixture. Make a well in the middle and pour in the chilled buttermilk. Using a plastic scraper, fold together until the mixture forms into a ball of dough.
7) Lightly flour your surface and tip the dough ball out of the bowl. Gently roll the dough into a 9” by 14” rectangle. Brush the surface of the dough with melted butter, leaving 1” at the bottom to seal. Sprinkle the cinn/sugar mix over the butter. Roll the dough into a log, sealing the final edge. Use dental floss to evenly slice the log into 12 even pieces and place them in the prepared muffin tin.
8) Use the final bit of melted butter to brush the tops of the scones. Bake on the middle rack for 15 minutes, rotate the pan and bake for another 5, until fully risen and golden brown.
9) Allow the scones to cool in the pan for five minutes before removing them to cool completely on a wire rack.
10) These scones are best eaten right away!
